Pneumatic player-action.



G. W. & R. PAULSON.

PNEUMATIC PLAYER ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.18.1909,

1,094,808. Patented Apr. 28, 19m

3 BHBBTS-SHEET 1.

WWW/l Maw a? WM G. N. & R. PAULSON.

FNEUMATIC PLAYER ACTION.

APxLICA'I'IONIILIT\70(JT.18.19O9

Patented Apr, 28, 1914.

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G. W. & R. PAULSON.

PNEUMATIC PLAYER ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 18, 1909 Patented Apr. 28, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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STAIES PATENT ormon.

cns'rrirw; PAULSON, or BELMONT, m) RUDOLF ram-sou, ornos'ron, massscnu- SETTS, ASSIGNORS TO HENRY I. MILLER & sons PIANO COMPANY, A conrona'non OF MASSACHUSETTS.

i ,PIIEtIMATICPLAYEB;-ACTION.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, GUSTAF W. PAUL- ful Improvementsfin Pneumatic Player-.

Actions, of whiclrthe following is a speci This, invention "relates to an improved .pneumatic 'player action for pianofortesand other key-board instruments, and one of the objects of the inventionjis to provide an apparatus of this class in which the valves for controllingv the action of the pneumatics accordingto changes of pressure within the conduits leading to the tracker boarder bar shall be embodied in individual units detachably connected to saidconduits and to the powerchamber so that each unit may be removed independentlyof the'others to in: speet, adjust, repair or replace -the unit or any ofdts-coniponentparts Iwithout dis-,. mounting any other partof the player ac- .tion. 1

The invention has'for its object further to provide a player action which shall be simple in itsconstruction and which shall occupy a minimum amount of space and shall be ca pable of being placed above the key-board of an up'right p anof'and the ob ject is still further to'rnake it possible to provide a the pneumatics and the abstracts of the pianoforte action and to eliminate much of the leakage and frictionwhich have con tributed toward the lack of sensitiveness of operation of layer actions heretofore.

The inventronconsists'in the novel fea lures of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth-in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Referringto the' dpawdn sfFigure 1 is a pneumatic player action embo ying our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectiona-l view taken on line 2-2.of.Fig'.- 1 looking-toward the the player action.' Fig. "4 is a detail horizontal section of one of the units which conmore direct connection between a ortion of a- Specification me ratent. Patented Apr. 28,1914. Applicationfiledpctoberm,19m SerlalNo. 523,217.

tain the primary and secondary valves showing the connection between the chamber beneath the primary diaphra and the conduit leading to the tracker iiird and showing also the connection between said chamber and the air tension or power chamber.

a Fig. 5 is a sectional perspective view of one of the units containing the primary and secondary valves and their actuating diaphragms with the parts in their normal positions. Fig.6 is a sectional perspective view similar to Fig. 5 except that the parts are shownin their abnormal positions. Fig. 7- is a developed sectional view taken on the irregular line'77 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a front elevation showing the arrangement of the units containing the primary and secondary valves and showing the arrangement of said units with relal ion to the cas- .ings which form the air tension or power chambers and showing also the means for supporting said caslngs upon the'piano casing.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout-.the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings 10 is a music sheet extending across the tracker bar or board 11 and conveyed across said tracker board by a music roll 12 and takeup spool 13 in the usual and well known manner. The tracker board 1-1 is provided with the usual passages 14 to which atmospheric air is admitted intermittently by slots 15 in the music shect brought into register with the passages 14 as the music sheet is fed thereacross in the usual manner. A series of supe1'posedcasings 16 similar to each other in construction are provided, respectively, with air tension or power chambers 17 communicating with a vertical passage 18 which is connected by a conduit 19 to the well known wind chest, not shown.

The casings 16 are 'detachably connected to each other in any suitable manner and are connected to a plate .20 beneath the lowermost casing by a vertical bolt 21 having at itsupper end a thumb-nut 22. .The casings 16 are supported on and detachably secured at each end thereof to two brackets 23 socured to the piano casing in any suitable manner. Each of the casings 16 has socured to its under side a series of conduits shown in Fig.

tached to the casings in such a maimer that when the casings are dismounted it is unnecessary to remove said conduits from said casings. Each of the conduits 25 of one casing 16 is connected by a flexible conduit 26 to a preferably metallic conduit 27 so cured to a casing 28 thereabove, the latter conduits being connected by flexible conduits 29 to the tracker board 11 in the usual manner. i The conduits 25 lead intopassages 30 in the casings 16. By connecting the tracker board to thepassagesBO, as just described, instead of providing continuous flexible conduits forming the sole,connecti0n therebetween, the assembling and dismounting of the player action is very easily and conven' ;iently accomplished. Each of the casings '16, for convenience of manufacture, is pre erably made up of two boards 31 and 32, each board 31 being'grooved in its upper side to form the air tension or power chamber 17 and the board 32 being secured thereto in such a manner as to' form the upper wall of said chamber. 3 I a 7 Each board 32 is provided-with a series of recesses 33 in the upper side-thereof, these recesses being covered by flexible diaphragns 3a and thus constituting a series of power or striking neumatics. It will be observed that the upper side of each diaphragm 34; is exposed to theatmosphere at all times and the arrangement is such that the player action is rendered'very compact a fid-th1s arrangement I especially verl ically makes it possiblc;to place theplayer action above the key-board as well as permitting a more direct connectionbetween the diaphragms 34 and the abstracts of. the piano action. v Q: I Secured to theaipper side-of each of the diaphragms 34 is a reinforcement 35 having cars 36 thereon to which is. pivotally connected a lever 37 'fulcrumed at 38. The rear end of each lever-37 carries an adjustable abutment 39 preferably consisting of a screw having screw-threaded engagement with said lever and each of these screws ongages a cushioned projection 40 upon one of the abstracts 41 of the piano action.

Secured to tl e f ront face of each of the casings 16 are a series of casings 42 each of which is held in place by two screws 43. Each of these casings, for'convenience of manufacture, is fornrcdof two .blocks of wood 44 anda5'placed together, as clearly 3, the block 45 being provided with a primary diaphragm reccssdfi and a sccoi'idary diaphragm rcccss 4 7, the former 'gping covered by a'flcxible primary diaphragm 48 and the ,latter by a secondary diaphragm 49.

1 The primary recess iG comu'mnicatics with tering therewith 30 through a passag 50 registhe passage and said recess communicates with the air tension chamber 17 through a pin hole pin hole, for convenience of manufacture, being formed in a plug 53 inserted in the block 45. It being understood that at all times during the operation of the player action there exists within the chamber 17 an air tension, it will be evident that an air ten sion will normally existwithin the recess A6 and in the passages leading therefrom to the-tracker board 11-andthat air is being constantly drawn from these passages through the pin hole 51 during the operation of the usual exhauste rs, not shown. Located above the primary diaphragm 48 is a primary valve 51 having a head 55 located in a recess 56 and hai'inga shank 57 located in a passage 58 which connects said recess to a recess 59 located above the primary diaphragm 48. A washer 60 which is located above the primary valve is provided with an aperture Gl' so that the recess 56 is open to the atmosphere at all times. The communication between the'passage 58 and the recess 59 is controlled by a valve 62 resting uponand preferably secured to the primary diaphragm 18 and'this valve supports the stem 57. Forming the valve 62 separate from the stem 57 not only cheapens the cost ofmannfacture and renders easy the assembling of the parts but it also permits the primary valve 5 1 to be lifted from its place by simply removing the washer 61 and in verting the casing 12, Me to clean dust from the seat-of mary valve.

When in action, the stem 57 and valve 62 move as one piece and'the valve62 in ell'ect constitutes a part of the primary valve 51 since when the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 7, the head 55 shuts off communication between the recess 59 and the outer tatmosphere through the passage 58 and recess 56, and when the air tension the privalve 62 closes and cuts off such communil cation by lifting into contact with per wall of the recess 59. The passage 58 communicates through an irregular passage 63 formed partly in the block 41 and partly in the block 45 with the secondary recess and thus it is apparent that when the primary valve 54 is lifted by the action of the primary diaphragm 18 air at atmospheric pressure is admitted through the aperture 61 and connecting passages to the recess 4 to act on the under side of the secondary diaphragm 49.

Located above the secondary diaphragm 49 is a secondary valve 64 consisting of head (35v and a uted shank 66. The head (35 is located in a recess 67 and the upward movement thereof is limited by a washer (38 having an aperture (i The recess 7 communicates with one of the recesses ll 51 and a passage 52, said" below the diaphragm 48 is removed the thus making it possithrough passage 70 formed partly in the block 44 and partly in the board 32 so that when the secondary valve is in its .normal positiomas show rr'in Figs.:2, and 7, the

5 recess 33 is in communication with the outer exteii 73 for the secondary valve 64. The passage 71 communicates withthe air tension passage 17 through aipassage Z4 formedpartly hwithi n the block i i'and partly; the board 31- and thus itwill be evident that when the secondary'I valve is liftedfifmm theiposition tion between. said; and thejair shown-' in Figs. -2,. 5- and; 7 -to'the position 'f showx'i'in Fig.1 said valve isadapted tq eglti chamber 17 {through the pas' age 1z0; Hand- 7d, the consequence being thatan-air tension is thenjcreated inthe recess' 33. and the dia- 'phra m 34 is-forced downwa-rdl yi-fbyitlie at- 33 mosp iere acting upon the-upper sidethereof., The passage. 74 communicates .at all times with thc rtccss 59 through a short passage (5 so that the diaphragm 48 is nor a mally balanced. or in other; wordsg there is 3;, an v eq'iial tension on" both sides thereof; and

-10 taint-d therein. constitutes {a distinct unit,'

Lthe primary alvc 5% is held ,clo'sed by-the f combined action of gravity and the atmosphere' j j '5 Each of the casings 42 wrth the parts conthere being one of these units for eachstrik- This construction has two ing pneumatic.

In the first place, by

I important advantages.

tlills arranging'all of the-parts controlling .5 each strikmg gncumatlc m the form of a unitary structure independent of the others, if any particular note is imperfectly struck hyits rcspcctive pneumatic, the particular dcmonntable casing which contains all of thl .lparts controlling that -particular strik .ing pnucmatie may be removed for inspection; repair or replacement. .ln the smzond place, by this arrangement of-the parts the onnecting: passages are made so short that the action is thereby made more responsive (i0 mally exists in. the passages leadi i than has heretofore been possible.

The generaloperation of the player action hcrcinbcforelspcififically described is as follows:- Assumiug that. an ail" tcnsion norfrom the tracker board 14 to the undersideof' the primary diaphragm 48, thepart's \illll oc cupy the positions shown in Figs.- 2, 3, 5 and 4. \Vhcn a slot 15 in the music. sheet 10 0 comes into,rcgistcr with ono'of the passages 14 in the tracker-board ll, atmospheric air rushes inwardly thercthrough lo the umlcr side of the primary diaphragm is and the area of said diaphragm being grcnlcl than the area of the head of the primary valve '54 and for the further reason that an air tension exists abovcfthe Plllllill diaphragm,

said diaphragm is lifted and thus lifts the primary valve 54. The lifting of the primary valve admits atmospheric air, as hcrcinbcforeidesc'ribed, to the under side of the Sciondary diaphragm 49 and as there exists an air tension above said diaphragm the same is lifted thereby lifting the secondary valve (it from its seat 73 and seating the upper side of said valve against the Washer (38. In thiswayxl'ie atmosphere is cut off from the passage and recess 33 and said passage and rcccss are then in coimnunication with the assages 71 and 74 and the air tension chamr 17, the consequence being that the pressurefis reduced in the recess 33 below at- 'mospheric andthefatmosphoric pressure on theupper sider'fof the diaphragm'i-ll fort-cs .the same downwardly, thereby aclum thriiugh the lever 3'1 to lift the abstract ll thuscans ing the hammer of the piano, not shfiwn, to strike in the \vell'known manner. When the passage 1i is subsequently (lllh'ttl by the music sheet 10, air is drawn from the connections leading from said passage to and through the pin hole 51 and through the air tension chamber l7 to the wind chest and exhausters, not shown. thus been created in the recess -16, the primary diaphragm 48 drops and the primary valve closes communication hctwccn the un- (her side of the secondary diaphragm 4t and the outer atmosphere so that the secondary 'valve 64 then cuts off communication be- A tension having tween the recess 33 and the air tension or 7 power chamber 17 and opens communication between said recess and the outer atmosphere and the diaphragm 34 being then in equilibrium is lifted by the'weight of the abstract 41. and the other parts of the piano action. not shown, connected thereto.

The construction dcscribedhercin not. o l

has the advantage of making it possihlv to easily-remove the units containing the primary and secondary valves for inspection and repair, but in addition the construction of the pnenmatics is such that thcrc are no sliding 'stcms which require packing and which would cause more or less leakage in the system,- and moreover the parts operate with less friction. This construction also has the further advantage that it is much more simple than player a tions heretofore and is more compact, occupying lcss space vertically. This construction also makes it possible to place the player action above the key-board. and t permit mun, direct connection between the pncumatics and the piano abstracts.

trulling 'mcumatic and cunmumicatiiig with [he said third passage. and means within the uin-oiling pneumatic for controlling communivation between the first two said passag? of the cnnt'ruiling pneumatic asso ciated with a diaphragm in said diaphragm chamber. 7

In testimony whci'eqf We have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing \v i tmsses.

GUSTAF W. PAULSON. I RUDOLF PAULSQN.

\Yitnesses:

LOUIS A; JONES, SADIE V. MCCART!1Y. 

